The Great Growth Disconnect: Population Growth Does Not Equal Economic Growth

Oct 3, 2013

When we think of the growth of cities and metros, we often think in terms of population growth. But this growth bears little relation to economic growth, and it’s a terribly misleading indicator of it.

The table below lists the top 10 metros for productivity growth. The top ten includes a mix of knowledge-based metros like Corvallis and Portland, Oregon, in first and second place; Durham-Chapel Hill, in North Carolina’s Research Triangle, in third; San Jose, the heart of Silicon Valley, in fifth; and several energy-producing metros in Texas and Louisiana. The table again illustrates the striking disconnect between population growth and productivity growth. Just two metros in the top ten metros for productivity growth are among the top 100 in population growth: Durham-Chapel Hill, North Carolina, at 78th and Odessa, Texas, at 92nd. For the full article by Richard Florida click here…